THE Philippine women’s football team begins its 32nd Southeast Asian Games campaign on Wednesday, hoping the experience and skills gained on a busy year would make it good enough to beat the region’s top teams.
The Filipinas open their bid to surpass their bronze medal finish in Hanoi last year in their clash with Myanmar on Wednesday, 7 p.m. (8 p.m. Philippine standard time) at the RCAF Old Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Ever since that podium finish, the Filipinas have produced results including a title in the AFF Women’s Championships last year. The team has also been busy with friendlies and training camps in preparation for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
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But head coach Alen Stajcic said the true test on where the team stands in the Southeast Asian level will be on the pitch.
“We just arrived two days ago. We’ve had a grueling schedule over the last 15 months, played a lot of football,” said Stajcic during the pre-match press conference in Phnom Penh.
“We’re improving all the time in trying to catch up to countries like Vietnam and Thailand. You know how tough that is in this part of the world. But we’re here now and we’re really looking forward to the tournament.”
Even with their AFF title, Stajcic sees defending champion Vietnam as the leading contender for the gold. Aside from Thailand, the Australian coach also mentioned Myanmar as one of the formidable foes.
The Philippines beat Myanmar, 2-1, in the bronze medal match in Hanoi on second-half goals by Sarina Bolden and Quinley Quezada.
“Vietnam are the favorites to win this tournament. We’re just growing at the moment and we know we have a long way to go to catch up. Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar have been strong for a long time,” said Stajcic.
“We respect that they have better history. Hopefully that this tournament will show that we’ve closed the gap even more. Over time we want to keep progressing not just in Southeast Asia and Asia but also in the world,” said Stajcic.
Bolden and Quezada will lead the Filipinas up front along with Bella Flanigan and Chandler McDaniel, who is making her SEA Games debut.
Filipinas stalwarts Tahnai Annis and Katrina Guillou won’t be around for this medal bid due to club commitments since the SEA Games is not part of the Fifa window.
But the Filipinas still have a solid team from the recent camps and friendlies with goalkeepers Olivia McDaniel and Kiara Fontanilla, defenders Maya Alcantara, Alicia Barker, Reina Bonta, Malea Cesar, Sofia Harrison, Hali Long, and Eva Madarang, and midfielders Anicka Castaneda, Sara Eggesvik, Carleigh Frilles, Isabella Pasion, Jaclyn Sawicki, Natalie Oca, and Sabine Ramos completing the roster.
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